Ticket printing machine



`March 23, 1954 W. F. HOFFMANN ET AL 2,572,809

TICKET PRINTING MACHINE Filed NOV. 30, 1950 2 Sheets-Shea?l l INVENToRs.iff/IMM E /UFFMA/VA/ March 23, 1954 w. F. HOFFMANN ET AL TICKET PRINTINGMACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed NOV, 30, 1950 Patented Mar. 23, 1954 UNITEDSTATES iATENT OFFICE TICKET PRINTING MACHINE Indiana ApplicationNovember 30, 1950, Serial No. y198,4218 4 Claims. (Cl. 10170) Thisinvention relates to machines for printing job tickets, tags and thelike and more particularly to an attachment for a tag or ticket printingmachine for rendering the latter capable of printing either on bothsides of a job ticket or only one side thereof, and which permitsprinting multiple lines of indicia during a single excursion of thetickets through the printing machine.

In some respects the present invention is an improvement on machines ofthe general character disclosed in U. S. Patents Nos. 2,121,864,2,007,526, and 1,980,1576, issued to Carl A. Flood. Machines of thischaracter generally are provided with a mechanism for feedingcontinuously strip tickets from a roll, fan-fold or manifold formsupply, one by one, into printing position over a line of type set up ona series of settable type Wheels. A rock arm or head carrying a platenis arranged to oscillate during each cycle of the machine and to causethe platen to press the tag into imprinting engagement with an inkingribbon overlying the composed line of type. The drive mechanism of thesemachines may be controlled by a suitable counter and stop mechanism suchas that disclosed in the above-listed Patent No. 2,007,526, whereby themachine may be set to operate to print a predetermined number oftickets.

Certain types of industry in their manufacturing processes requiremultiple lines of indicia as well as a lot number to be printed uponindividual tickets. For example, in the pharmaceutical eld in the massproduction manufacturing of drugs, each tray or container which receivesa quantity of a large batch or lot of a drug or medicament must beaccurately and continuously identified by a clear, detailed, descriptionof the particular product and its lot number, from the moment of thecommencement of the manufacture of such product to the moment of its nalpackaging and labeling in a container for use by the consumer. Machinesof the type disclosed in the listed patents have certain limitations inthis connection, in that only a single line of printing may be imprintedupon the tags during any given run of the tags through the machine. Thatis to say, in order to obtain more than one line of printing the tagsmust be run through the machine for each line of printing desired.Moreover, adjustments must be made to the machine preparatory to each ofsuch runs to insure the proper spacing of the line to be printed from aline previously printed. In addition, such machines print only on oneside of the ticket, whereas in handling certain classes of workrequiring job lot tickets it is desirable that the identifying tagscarry indicia on both sides thereof. Desirably the lot numberidentication should be of such type character and size, as to render itconspicuously contrasting to the description of product indicia.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide asimple, inexpensive and reliably operative attachment for use Withmachines of the above character which will enable such machines to printmultiple lines of indicia upon the tickets or tags upon a singleexcursion through the machine.

Another object is to provide an attachment of this character which doesnot interfere in any manner with the settable type mechanism presentlyincluded in machines of this class or with the operation of such typemechanism thus, providing a machine that is capable of imprintingindicia on both sides of the tickets during a single excursion thereofthrough the machine, or permits at the will of the operator, the use ofthe settable type printing mechanism to the exclusion of the multipleline imprinting mechanism, or vice versa.

A further object is to provide a lot numbering device in associationwith said attachment, which lot numbering device may be quickly andeasily Other objects, features, innovations, elements,

and combinations of our invention will be discernible from the followingdescription which is i to be taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a perspective View of the settable typeprinting machine with our improved multiple line and lot-number printingdevice mounted thereon, the machine being shown in broken lines orphantom and the multiple line and lot number printing mechanisms beingshown in full lines,

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the printing machine and attachment,certain parts being broken away for clarity of illustration andparticularly illustrating the'conventional ticket feed and rockarmactuating mechanism of such machines, and,

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the type of ticket used in themachines and illustrates the front and rear side, multiple and singleline, and lot number printing which may be accomplished by ourinvention.

A printing machine exemplifyng the type disclosed in the patentshereinbefore listed is generally indicated at Il] in Figs. i and 2 ofthe drawings. Such machines are adapted to print a single line I I (Fig.3) of indicia upon the under side of each tag or ticket T of a strip Sof such tickets. The strip S may be supplied in roll form or, as hereinshown, in ian or manifold form from a supply container` I2.. rThe stripS is brought upwardly and over an inclined table I4, suitable adjustablelateral guides I5 being provided to keep the strip S aligned as it isfed downwardly over table I4. The strip S (Fig, 3) generally comprises aplurality of tickets T separable by perforate tear lines I6,andsprovided adjacent one edge thereof with elongate .eedsltms` Il.

The printing wheel assembly indicated at I8 (Fig. 2) comprises a seriesof wheels having type around their peripheries, the wheels beingsettable to compose a line of type substantially tane. gent to theunderside of strip S. The wheels may beflocked in ltheir set position asby means disclosed' inthe aforementioned patents. An inked ribbon (notshown). overlies the. type.

Thefstrip S lis-advanced along thetable I-and between .the guides i5 bya feed slide I9 (Fig. .2) carrying aspring-pressed feed iinger. 2t.adapted to engage in slots i?. Slide E9 is` reciprocated once duringeach cycle of `the machine by means oflinkage 2I associated with abarrel cam 22.

At the end of. the leftward or upward stroke of. slide I9, finger 2@engages in a slot I'I and, during the forward vor downward stroke ofslide I9, advances a just-printed ticket T of strip f5 out of printingposition and the next ticket T into proper printing re-gstration'withthe line oftype set up on. type Iwheels I S.

Ahead or rock arm generally indicated at 23 ismounted. for oscillatory`movement on a shaft 24 suitably xedin .the machine frame. Linkageindicated at 25-.connects the roch arm with barrel cam'22, which,through .thelinicage imparts first, a'downward stroke and then an upwardstroke to rock arm 23,.during. each cycle of themachine. The .machineispowered by an electric motor vindicated at 25, which'is suitablyconnetced to drive the barrel cam22l in rotation, andzthereby to. cycle:the. machine. Arm 23 includes. aniupstanding sidewaiii and atransversely, extending, front flange :2t `formed at right anglestothe.w-allEi', flange 28 terminating at its.I lower. endv in a horizontallydisposed, rectangularly shapedJ foot` 29. to. which is.removablyfattached `a -icorrespondingly shaped block 3d. Block A isrecessed. as -at 3l to receive aplaten pad 32 removably inserted within.recess 3l. Platen 32 .occupies .such .a position thatas it ap proachesthe lower end of its arcuatepath of travel during the downstroke of arm23, .it .engages. the .upperside of a ticketfl* and. presses the: ticketinto .imprinting relation with .the .line

of type setup on wheelsl.

The rocking motion of arm. 23 and the reciprocatingmotionofslide i9 aresynchronizedso that thetickets T are completely. registered in printingposition and stationarywhen theplatencarrying arm nears. the end of itsdownward. stroketo veffect .the printing and, the tickets areadvanceddntoprinting position during the. up-

stroke of the arm and. before itf approximates ticket.A engagingposition during its next downstrokemovement.

The driving `mechanism of the =machinemay be controlledby a counter andstop mechanism indicated generally at 33 (Fig. l) Vofthe type` morefully disclosed in U. S. Patent No. 2,007,526

i front portion 36.

'4 so that the machine may operate to print a predetermined number oftickets.

All of the mechanism thus far described is more fully shown anddiscribed in U. S. Patents Nos. 2,121,864, 2,007,526, and 1,980,576.

As previously stated machines of the character just describedhave'certain limitations in connectionlwith the printing oftagsi-or-ftickets identifying portions of large batches of massproduceddrugs or medications wherein, generally speaking,4 multiple lines ofidentifying indicia'together with a lot number are demanded. Suchmachines canfbeused for this purpose but when. so. used" itis. requiredthat the strip of ticketsibev run'through the machines once for eachline of printing that is required to properly describe. the. product.yunder manufacture. In addition, the lot number is usually required to bestamped by a separate hand operation.

Our invention overcomes this diiiiculty by providing a l simple,yinexpensive .and (reliablyA opera`A- tive attachment for .use inconnectionrwithma chines of the `character just .described andA whichenablessuch machines to lprint. multiple line in'- .fdicia `descriptiveof the product togetherwith the lot number upon one side of theticket;and

if desired to. printthe usual .single line of indicia.

upon the oppositey side of thetieket.

Our attachment comprises an auxiliary w generally indicated at. 34. Arm34 may be stamped or otherwiseV fabricated. butv preferably;

is cast of a strong .butlight-weight materiaL. AtA

its rear end-the4 arm is formedwith a projec tion 35-merging witha-rightangularly formed. The projectionr 35 and v front portion 36sarechanneled as at 59-and 6D,- respectively, to receive the correspondingright.. angularly formed sidewall and ange portions.2'| and 23,.respectively, otrock arrn23.r The width of the channels 'S9- Gais suchas .to .embrace intimately the opposite sideA surfaces of. sidewall 2!and ilange 26. threaded preferably: into ythe outer. wall of pro.-

jection 35 vservestovclamp auxiliary arm` 34 re movably' but securely inmounted position uponv rock arm 23.- Forwardly of the front portion36-the auxiliary arm is inclined -at an angle-downwardly as: at v3-'1andmerges with a rightzangu- Oiset '38.

lar, horizontally disposed offset 38. has. formedintegrally therewitha-footl39 to which is removably attachedas-by means .of -ax screw 4I)` a`multiple 'line'. stencil .printingunit 4I. Stencil .unit- A I may .be.of the. general. type-xr disclosedin- U, S.Patent to. G. T. Prichard.-No..v

1,445,447, and.. comprises a stencil ink. reservoir 42 .beneath which is.removably attached astencil card 43 as byI means .ofclips such as-44located.

at theoppositeends of the unit.`

In tandem relationto the forwardfend `of .ma--

chine IU-there ispostionedra platform or tablev 45 the upper surfaceY 46fof. which -is .inclined at an i angle correspondingfto the .angle .ofthe inclined table I4 of the machine'IIi-.- Preferably theupper surface46,.isrecessedvto'receive.a-platen padel ofv neoprene, :semi-soft rubberor other. Thefstencil wardfstroke ofrock` arm 23- and-'.thefattached"auxiliary arm. .34 4'it :serves to imprint thezniulti-` ple lines'48.(Fig; 3) offsuchdescriptiveindiciav upon that .side of eachticket'fToppositeto the side upon lwhichtl're .single line II isprinted.

A. pair. ontving. screws A6I- When. f such stencil.`

Thelot number indicated at49 (Fig. 3) may be imprinted upon each ticketby a settable, wheel numbering device of the' well known conventionaltype and herein indicated at 50. Such numbering devices are self inkingand are operable to imprint an impression of a series of numbers set upon their wheels 5| upon the depression of a plunger 52. The numberingdevice 5ll is fixed to one side of the table 45 as by means of a bracket53. The upper end of plunger 52 preferably has mounted thereon a ballbearing indicated at 54. A lug 55 provided with an elongate slot 56 ismounted as by means of a wing screw 51 passing through slot 5E andthreaded in a horizontally disposed flange 58 formed integrally withauxiliary arm 34. When the lug is adjusted to the position shown inFigs. 1 and 2, it overlies the ball bearing 54 of plunger 52 and, duringthe downward stroke of rock arm 23 and the attached auxiliary arm 34,lug 55 depresses plunger 52 and thereby causes wheels 5l to imprint alot number 49 upon each ticket T as it comes into registration withnumbering device 50. It will readily be seen that if it is desired toprint the tickets without a lot number this may be done simply byreleasing wing screw 51 and moving lug 55 toward the right (as viewed inFig. 1) a distance suflicient to remove the lug from over the plunger52. In this manner indicia may be imprinted upon the tickets in singleline form upon one side thereof by the settable type Wheels i8, andmultiple line indicia upon the other side thereof by the stencilprinting unit 4I.

If it is desired to print simply the multiple line indicia 48, thesingle line printing mechanism may be disabled as by removing platen pad32 from within recess 3l, and, conversely, if it is desired to utilizesimply the settable type, single line, printing mechanism the lotnumbering device 50 may be disabled as described, the stenciled card 43removed from the clips 44 of the stencil unit 4| and a blank or non-cutcard inserted therein or, alternatively, table 45 removed or wing nuts5i loosened and auxiliary arm 34 and its appendages quickly and easilyremoved as a single unit.

It is apparent that our invention renders a machine of the classdescribed capable of performing work clearly beyond the scope of suchmachines as they heretofore existed, making possible, multiple lineprinting, in a single excursion of the ticket strip through the machineand the simultaneous imprinting of a contrasting lot number, as well asthe imprinting of data on the reverse side of the tickets; all, in asimple, efcient, and economical manner.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purposeof illustration only and that this invention includes all modificationsand equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a cyclically operated printing machine of the class described,having synchronized rockable head and reciprocating strip-ticket feedingmeans, an arm detachably mounted on said head for rocking movementtherewith, a multiple line stencil imprinting means fixed on said arm, aplatform having a platen thereon positionable adjacent said machine inconfronting relation with said stencil imprinting means and adapted toreceive and support tickets advanced thereover by said strip-ticketfeeding means, a number imprinting device xed on said platform inoverlying relation to said platen and in spaced relation from thatportion thereof in 'alignment with said stencil means, said numberingdevice being plunger operated, and .lug means on said arm in alignmentwith and operable to engage and actuate said plunger to effect printingof numbers upon one portion of said tickets concurrently with theprinting of indicia thereon by said stencil means at another portionthereof.

2. In a cyclically operated printing machineof the class described,having synchronized rockable head and reciprocating strip-ticket feedingmeans, an arm detachably mounted on said head for rocking movementtherewith, a multiple line stencil imprinting means fixed on said arm, aplatform having a platen thereon positionable adjacent said machine inconfronting relation with said stencil imprinting means and adapted toreceive and support tickets advanced thereover by said strip-ticketfeeding means, a number imprinting device fixed on said platform inoverlying relation to said platen and in spaced relation from thatportion thereof in alignment with said stencil means, said numberingdevice being plunger operated, lug means on said arm in alignment withand operable to engage and actuate said plunger to effect printing ofnumbers upon one portion of said tickets concurrently with the printingof indicia thereon by said stencil means at another portion thereof, andmeans associated with said lug means to permit its being moved out ofalignment with said plunger at will thereby to render the numberingdevice inoperative.

3. In a machine of the class described, including a settable typeprinting means, means for successively and intermittently advancing andregistering strip-tickets into printing position with respect to saidtype means, and a platencarrying rock arm operable to press each ticketas it is registered in printing position into imprinting relation withsaid type means to effect printing of a single line of indicia on oneside of each ticket, a support member removably attached to said rockarm for movement therewith, a stencil imprinting means supported on saidmember in spaced tandem relation from said platen on said rock arm, anauxiliary platen means stationarly supported in spaced, tandem relationfrom said type means and in arcuate alignment with said stencilimprinting means whereby during each stroke of said rock arm, multiplelines of indicia may be imprinted upon the other side of each ticket.

4. In a printing machine of the class described, including settableprinting type means, stripticket feeding means, a platen-carrying headrockable to press the platen against the tickets and the latter intoprinting relation with said type means, motor driven means operable toactuate synchronously said feeding means and said head to eifect singleline printing consecutively upon one side of each ticket of a strip asthe ticket is fed into printing position by said feeding means; anattachment comprising an arm detachably mounted on said head formovement therewith, multiple-line, stencil-imprinting means affixed onsaid arm and movable therewith in an arcuate path, a stationary platenlocated at a terminal of said path and adapted to receive and supportthe strip of printed tickets as the latter is advanced from saidsettabletype printing means, whereby multiple line imprinting iseifected upon the opposite side of said tickets as the stencilimprinting means consecutive1y1engageseach `tzi'cketzof the ,strip :andpresses, Number, it againstlthe stationary platen durngeach rock-'-v345,324 ing .lszxovelnentl otsaid head. 443,960v WILLIAM F; HOFFMANN;1,252,949 HERBERT E. SKILLMAN. 5 1,684,545- 1,937,144 References Citedin the. le of thispatent 2,007,526

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date 8 Name Imte` Dunn Ju1y"13.`1886 GibbsDec. 30, 189Dy Reiling w Jan. 8;,1918- Lasker Sept.v 18, 1928 FassmanNov. 28, 1933 Flod.: July 9,"1935

